Forest Products Permits
You need a permit to gather some forest products from the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests. Some products may be collected in limited quantities for personal use without a permit. A permit is required to collect any forest product in bulk or for commercial purposes.
No permit needed
You don’t need a permit to gather small amounts of:
- Fruits and nuts
- Pinecones
- Mushrooms
- Ramps
- Wood for campfires: Campers on national forest lands may collect firewood without a permit while camping. You can’t cut any trees, but you can gather wood on the ground for your campfire.
- Some rocks or fossils. Contact your nearest district office for more information.
- Some flowers and vegetation
Permit required
You do need a permit for firewood collection and rock collection.
Firewood Permits
You are allowed to gather down and dead wood on the national forest after you obtain a firewood permit.
Purchase your firewood permit online.
You can purchase firewood permits online on the Forest Service e-permits page.
Minimum permit is $20.00/4 cords, and each additional cord is $5 each. Permits are good for one year from date of issue.
When purchasing a permit, you may be asked to provide the year, make, model, color, license plate number, state of issue, and size of truck bed of the vehicle that you will be using to gather firewood.
Contact your nearest District Office for information about obtaining a permit. Please note that these permits are not available at the Forest Supervisor's Office in Roanoke, VA.
You may also purchase a permit via mail. Print and mail the application to your nearest District office.
When searching for firewood in the George Washington & Jefferson National Forests, review forest maps and the list of Prohibited Areas & Restrictions before planning your trip to harvest. Be sure to only use designated motorized roads and be aware of seasonal road closures. Maps and restrictions may be updated periodically throughout the lifecycle of your permit and can be obtained online and at ranger district offices.
Prohibited Areas & Restrictions
You CANNOT harvest within:
- Designated Wilderness Areas
- Developed Recreation Areas
- Campgrounds
- The Appalachian Trail Corridor (corridor is 100’ either side of trails)
- Active Timber Sale Units; or other areas signed or shown as being closed to firewood gathering
- Areas specifically prohibited by posted signs "NO FIREWOOD GATHERING ALLOWED"
- 150 feet of any lake, pond, marshy or wet area, stream, or river
In addition to the above locations, you CANNOT harvest within the following areas on the associated ranger districts:
James River Ranger District
- Dolly Ann Special Management Area on the left side coming in from Covington, Virginia to the divide
Glenwood & Pedlar Ranger Districts
- FDR #35 (Petites Gap Road), from the cement bridge just above the last house on the right side of the road to the Blue Ridge Parkway
- Runaway truck escape ramp on U.S. Hwy 60
- Boundaries within Mount Pleasant Special Management Area
Mount Rogers Natural Resource Area
- Virginia Creeper Trail (Corridor is 100’ either side of trails)
- Management Areas including Rush Creek, Whitetop Laurel Gorge, Little Laurel Creek, and Whitetop Mountain (Whitetop Mountain includes, S.R. 600 between Konnarock and Whitetop and Forest Service Road 89)
Important Note: Privately owned lands and state in-holdings within national forest boundaries are closed to harvest. The boundaries between private/state lands and federal lands are not always marked. It is the permittee's responsibility to know where you are harvesting at all times.
If you have questions about specific areas, contact your ranger district office.
When harvesting, you must adhere to the following:
- The use of portable sawmill equipment, large capacity hydraulic boom loaders and large capacity truck/trailer combinations are prohibited.
- Trees or logs must NOT be felled or skidded across live streams, lake, or reservoirs. If a tree is accidentally felled into a waterway, leave the entire tree.
Rock Collection Permits - Landscape Rock
Rock Collections permits are available for some areas on the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests. Call the district office where you wish to collect rock to find out if they issue permits in that area.
Prohibited uses
Rock Collections permits are available for some areas on the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests. Call the district office where you wish to collect rock to find out if they issue permits in that area. If the district issues rock permits, you may print and mail the order form to that district office:
Personal-use rock collection permits cost $25.00 and are good for one year from date of issue. The permit allows you to gather 6.25 short tons of rock, approximately the size of a small standard size truck (six-foot bed). Rock gathered under this permit is for personal use only and cannot be resold.
Only surface rocks which do not require excavating or digging can be collected. You are permitted to collect along stream and riverbanks but do not go into the actual stream or river to collect. When you are collecting rock, remember, vehicles can only be operated on open roads. Cross country driving is prohibited. Rock collection within any Wilderness Area is prohibited.
Prohibited uses
Collecting American Ginseng
You cannot collect any portion of the American ginseng plant for personal or commercial use from the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests. Ginseng populations have declined over the last several decades in Virginia due to continued harvest of the plant for consumption and sale. Ginseng is a listed as a threatened species in the state of Virginia through the Endangered Plant and Insect Species Act. The management plan for the Jefferson National Forest prohibits issuing permits for the collection of a threatened or locally rare species, making ginseng harvest prohibited. The management plan for the George Washington National Forest specifically prohibits the harvest of ginseng. Removing any portion of the ginseng plant from the national forest comes with strict penalties, including a fine of up to $5,000, six months in jail or both.
Cutting Christmas Trees
You cannot cut Christmas trees on the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests. We do not issue permits for cutting Christmas trees.
Collecting Historic and Prehistoric Artifacts
Taking any historic or prehistoric artifact from national forest land is strictly prohibited. Historic items may include old nails, glassware and household utensils that were once used during early settlement years. Prehistoric items may include arrowheads, pottery and other objects that are centuries old. Any ground or earth disturbing activity is prohibited where historic and prehistoric artifacts may occur.